Esquire — Visiting Chef’s Limited-Time Seafood Menu 🦀

I’ve written before about Esquire’s rotating visiting chef series and their impressive wine list. Their latest guest is Brooke Williamson (Season 14 Top Chef winner), with a California coastal seafood menu — which definitely lured me back. 🦀 Fried crab claws — packed with fresh crab meat and just a bit of pepper filler. Served with both mayo and spicy dipping sauces. 🦀 Clam chowder served inside a sourdough loaf 🥣🍞 — filled with diced ham, potatoes, and carrots. Rich, creamy, and sweet. The bread lid is crispy, while the bowl soaks up the soup for two textures in one. 🦀 Whole fried red snapper — looks intact, but it’s fully deboned inside (perfect for lazy eaters like me!). Mild on its own, but great with the Filipino-style adobo dipping sauce — tangy, spicy, sweet. Comes with roasted potatoes and arugula salad. 🦀 Dessert: rum and chrysanthemum crème brûlée — you can really taste the rum, though the chrysanthemum was more decorative. A bit too sweet for me — I should’ve ordered coffee. Besides the guest menu, they also have a regular à la carte menu. And since it’s a wine-focused spot, you get a complimentary glass as soon as you sit down — even as a light drinker, I felt compelled to enjoy it! 🍷✨ Esquire: 58 E Oak St, Chicago, IL 60611 #ChicagoEats #SeafoodMenu #VisitingChef #EsquireChicago #TopChefWinner #WineLovers